Topic 'Re: This is BULL.' in forum '' - dslreports.com

Re: This is BULL.

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 16:05:58 EDT

myosh posted :

said by tshirt:

Wait, so if a DSL user were to be charged $100 in overages with no functioning meter for the user to monitor his/her usage, it's up to the USER to prove AT&T is wrong? I can picture the following conversation...

User: Why was I charged $100 in overages for my DSL service?
CSR: You went over your cap by 500 GB... at $10 per 50 GB, that's $100 in overages.
User: Wait... what? I didn't use that much internet and there's no way to check my usage.
CSR: I'm sorry sir but our system says you went over. Do you have any proof you didn't go over the cap?
User: No because you're not providing me with a means of monitoring my usage.
CSR: I'm sorry sir but that's not our responsibility.
User: So it's basically my word against yours and I know AT&T is *never* wrong (sarcasm).
CSR: Unless you can prove you didn't go 500 GB over your cap, there's nothing I can do.
User: Well F*&! this... I want to cancel my account!

Re: This is BULL.

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 14:41:48 EDT

Gbcue posted : I have U-Verse, no meter, nothing about overages either by mail or e-mail.

Re: This is BULL.

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 20:27:10 EDT

DataRiker posted :

said by tshirt:

said by maartena:

No. We need a METER, and one that actually WORKS.

That is not a legal necessity, at this time.

Doubtful. Consumer protection laws almost always apply to use charges.

Before these laws generally did not apply as there were no overages, just cancellation of accounts.

Re: This is BULL.

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 17:21:14 EDT

tshirt posted :

said by maartena:

No. We need a METER, and one that actually WORKS.

That would be nice. That would be smart. That is not a legal necessity, at this time. They are choosing to put the onus on you to track your own usage and to provide your own PROOF should you protest their accounting.

I'm not defending their action, I'm saying if you want to build a legal case, and have legal standing to protest their lack of a public meter, YOU need to begin by being exteme accurate in your statements and ascertions. Then find the agency with legal standing to regulate the broadband protion of the service, find out EXACTLY what they would require to bring regultory action on this specifc issue. Then find others will to work towards that goal.

Re: This is BULL.

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 16:32:56 EDT

maartena posted :

said by tshirt:

said by maartena:

I have U-Verse, and I have no meter.....

....probably totalling about 300 GB. ..

So you have no certified meter of your own, and you can only vaguely describe your usage level, but have a feeling that is less then whatever metering system they use without showing it to you.
i.e. your guess maybe no more accurate then theirs, IF in fact they are guessing, of which you have no PROOF.

What I know is that I downloaded 12 virtual machines that month over the web from a remote datacenter to my private home for testing purposes. I can give you the exact detail of each virtual disk used in VMWare and the size of the corresponding virtual disk files if you like. I never took an exact look to how much each virtual machine was, and I did not count up each exact virtual disk file to see how much space/time it would take to transfer. I just started the transfers, and at some point the virtual machines were present on my harddrive, after I could proceed to migrate them into my ESXi test setup. The space on my harddrive for all the virtual machines was about 215 Gb - now THAT data is hard data. Of course there is no proof I actually downloaded that, I could just be saying that.

But I know that I transferred a LARGE amount of data that month, PLUS my regular web usage, streaming usage, etc, which in previous months (according to the 2Wire unit) usually is 100-120 Gb or so, sometimes a bit more.

Using the U-Verse RealTime tool - which now includes a way to check the 2Wire Unit to see how much data I use - I made an estimate. You have to manually reset the U-verse realtime tool at your billing period to get the best results, but in the end it is still relying on what 2Wire/AT&T provides.... so yeah, it may be highly unreliable. I had not reset the meter since some time in March, and it totaled over 500 Gb at that point - which was late May, so a period of 2.5 Months.

Additionally, you speak of "no certified meter". No one but AT&T themselves have "certified" their meter, so their word is as good as mine or yours. A "certified" meter usually entails a third party, such as a state or county official, to actually certify the meter, just like they do on gas pumps, scales in supermarkets, water meters, electricity meters, etc.

And that is really the point I am making. I don't care if they cap their product, this is a free market. If that is what they feel is needed, fine. But don't deceive the customers by not providing a meter.

If you go to the gas station and you fill up your tank.... don't you want to see on the spot how much you are filling it up for, so you can STOP at say.... 10 gallons? (using a CC at the pump). What good is it that you fill up your tank and then you have to go find out how much you exactly put in later at the register? AT&T is blindfolding people here, and what they are doing is somewhat the same as the gas station attendant shouting from his booth: "Pump #4, you are now at 10 gallons", when by that time you probably already reached 11 gallons by the time he finished that sentence.

If you want to cap a connection, make sure you provide meters. That way we can check OURSELVES what our data usage is, and adjust accordingly. What do you think will happen if at day 11 AT&T says "okay, you have now reached 65%". Does the customer just keep GUESSING till they reached 95%?

No. We need a METER, and one that actually WORKS.
--
"I reject your reality and substitute my own!"

Re: This is BULL.

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 16:09:03 EDT

tshirt posted :

said by maartena:

I have U-Verse, and I have no meter.....

....probably totalling about 300 GB. ..

Re: This is BULL.

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 15:50:57 EDT

siouxmoux posted : I have ATT UV Still No meters for me, And No over changers even though I am running slsk 24/7

Re: This is BULL.

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 14:46:55 EDT

wings10 posted : I have U-verse and do not have a usage meter as well. When I called AT&T last summer they told me to not worry about it. I have never been charged any overage fee.
--
"Growing up happens in a heartbeat. One day you're in diapers, the next day you're gone. But the memories of childhood stay with you for the long haul."

This is BULL.

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 14:36:40 EDT

maartena posted : I have U-Verse, and I have no meter.

And you can't charge users without users being able to check what they are being charged for at any given time of the day.

I can check my gas meter, I can check my water meter, I can check my electricity meter. I check my phone minutes + how many minutes I called that are being charged (e.g. international), almost down to the second.

And how can we even TRUST AT&T? With so many reports of inaccuracies, who guarantees that their meter displays the correct information? With utilities, you have options. There are county officials and state officials who check the accuracy of meters on a regular basis, and if there are inconsistencies the public is informed.

In other words, there is a 3d party, other than the customer and supplier, who is allowed to determine how accurate their meters are. Why should we believe AT&T on their word that what they say is correct? And how good does it really look if they are HIDING that information?

Any provider I have seen that has some sort of cap that has MONETARY charges attached to it, has come up with a accurate way of measuring the data and displaying how much you will be charged next month. E-Mails that warn you will just not do.

Shame on you AT&T for even TRYING this.

Oh, and by the way: In May I did a number of HUGE data transfers, probably totalling about 300 GB. I never received ONE! e-mail from AT&T besides their almost WEEKLY spam trying to sell me U-Verse TV as well.

--
"I reject your reality and substitute my own!"